Things that make me go hmm…

Sports Snippets

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH THE GIANTS?! They’ve started the season at 0-5, worst start since 1987. Any hope that they have of getting into the playoffs, they can kiss goodbye. The only thing they can play for now is pride. They can’t end the season as bottom feeders. C’mon, Big Blue, get it together!! We’ll see what happens tonight…as I write this, the score is 13-7 in favor of the Bears, 14:32 left in the half.

So happy to see the send-off that Mariano Rivera got from around the league. Especially heartened to see the reception from the Red Sox nation. And if you haven’t seen it, go check his last game in Yankee pinstripes. It’ll leave you misty-eyed. Best closer in all of baseball; he’s punched his ticket into the Hall. Good luck, Mo, as you open a new chapter. From a die-hard Mets fan.

From the looks of things, it will take more than one season for Bill Lambier to turn around the fortunes of the New York Liberty. While this season was better than the last, they still ended up with a losing record and barely missed getting into the playoffs. And it was still painful to watch.

One bright spot the Liberty’s season was the send off for Katie Smith, who retires as the highest-scoring American female basketball player. Fellow Olympic champion Tina Thompson of the Seattle Storm also retired. Thompson was the No. 1 draft pick in the WNBA inaugural draft, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer and second-leading rebounder. Good luck and best wishes to both!

Between the Mets, Liberty, and the Giants, I’m looking forward to the start of the NBA. Last year, the Knicks showed that they were the real deal; looking forward to more of the same this season.

The Rangers are still looking to get their sea legs. So far, they’re 1-2 on the season. The Islanders are 2-0. Who’da thunk?! The world has turned upside-down!

You know you got it bad when the people in a soccer-crazy country like Brazil have taken to the streets to protest the exorbitant amount of money being spent to host the 2014 World Cup, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, while there’s no money for basic needs like education, and improving the country’s infrastructure. Certainly made FIFA stand up and take notice.

Like FIFA doesn’t have enough problems. Brazil is notoriously behind schedule in getting the structures completed for the Cup. And there are charges of human rights abuses against the migrant workers in Qatar, the nation that’s hosting the 2022 World Cup. Workers are dying in the heat, their passports are held illegally by their employers, and they live in horrid conditions. And questions about whether the game should be held in Qatar in the summer, with the desert heat. FIFA has its hands full.

In my DVR queue: Frontline’s “League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis.” If it’s anything like their piece about head injuries at the high school level, I expect a very sobering report.

Speaking of football and serious injuries, Eric LeGrand, the Rutgers football player who suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury in a 2010 football game against Army, had his No. 52 retired at the school. He is the first player in the 144 years of history at the college to have his number officially retired. Check the video here: http://youtu.be/oalezg24RN8. He is an inspiration to all. Follow him on Twitter: @EricLeGrand52.